


Bridges Forged

by FlashySyren



Series: A Thousand Years [3]
Category: Thor - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-30
Updated: 2015-10-30
Packaged: 2018-04-28 22:50:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5108501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlashySyren/pseuds/FlashySyren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lady Sif hasn't been feeling well, and both she and Thor are well-aware of what that means. It doesn't mean that it's an easy truth to face. Luckily, timing doesn't always have to be perfect to be right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bridges Forged

Thor propped himself up in bed to watch Sif retch in the basin lying on the vanity across the room. It wasn’t the first time it had happened over the last few days, and he was pretty certain it wouldn’t be the last, but while he had jumped up to pull her hair back away from her face before, he hadn’t appreciated the elbow to the ribs he had received.

“I don’t understand why you are so resistant to seeing Eir about this.” Thor frowned and slid of the end of the bed when she waved her hand at him in a sharp gesture that said to him that she hadn’t changed her mind.

He watched her reach for the towel with a shaking hand and wipe her mouth. Only then did he step up next to her and pull her into a gentle hug. He knew why she wouldn’t go. Norns knew he could understand her denial, but he wasn’t willing to watch her suffer like this when it would be a simple matter to soothe her upsets.

Sif sighed heavily and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Your coronation is only a few days away, and the last thing you need to be worried about is me.”

“Do not play the fool, my lady.” He said softly, and ran his fingers carefully through her tangled hair. “You are my first concern. Always.”

Her arms tightened around him, and he led her back over to the bed where he urged her to sit in the pile of furs. Then knelt in front of her on the rug. “Either you let me take you to the healing wing, or I will summon Eir here, but this is no mere illness and you know it.”

Æsir adults were immune to most all illness, and even those that did manage to get through were fought off quickly, but this had been going on for days. Days in which there was no accompanying fever, no worsening effects. No. He knew what this was, and the prospect was both thrilling and terrifying.

“If I’m seen going into the healing wing, you know how word will spread.”

“You mean the murmurs that are likely already growing louder among the palace’s servants?” Thor rubbed his hands along her bare thighs, but his eyes remained fixed on her face. “Is this concern you carry for me, or yourself?”

“The timing is terrible.” She muttered.

Thor watched her carefully, the uncertainty he could see in her eyes, and regretted the decision he had made to save his proposal until after the coronation. Regardless, he was smart enough not to make it now, knowing Sif far too well to expect that it would go well in her current state.

“Nonsense.” He stood up and cupped her face in his hands when she tipped it up to keep looking at him, smoothed the crease between her brows with his thumb. “The timing couldn’t be better.” Asgard would welcome an heir, and most of the realm already waited for the day their marriage would be announced. Half of the council had inquired into his plans.

“Call for Eir, then.” Sif gently removed his hands from her face and got up, her expression smoothing into something hard to read. “But know this, Odinson: if you think to keep me off the training field with this as an excuse, you will regret that effort.”

Excitement curled tight in his belly and a grin spread across his face. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Despite herself, a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth before Sif turned away, her palm pressing briefly to her flat abdomen. “I’m going to wash and do something about my breath.”

“Do not linger, I will be back soon with Eir.”

She glanced back at him over her shoulder, then vanished into the bathroom.

His heart jumping in his chest as Thor headed first for the door, only to realize that he was still naked, having not yet dressed after Sif woke him.

Perhaps he should be more concerned about this. Their relationship had only recently solidified, which was exactly why he had chosen to wait until after the coronation to ask her to be the warrior queen he knew she was, but now he worried about how she would take that. Would she think he was asking out of some sort of assumed duty?

Their start had been rather rocky as his past choices had opened a chasm between them, but he liked to think the bridge they built was stronger even than the friendship they had previously shared, for it was constructed upon it. Made bigger and grander, but the base was the solid foundation that had linked them together for centuries. It was mutual respect and trust that carried them through the rough times. This was nothing compared to some of those. He could make her understand that there was no sense of duty driving him to make their family official, it was what he wanted more than anything else.

With those reassurances on his mind, he finished dressing in casual attire, and slipped out of his rooms to trek down the corridor past the throne room, to the palace atrium where the ceilings were high, plated in decorative glass to let light in, but keep out the weather. He had always loved the big open space as a child, and he raised his face to the early morning rays that spilled through the glass as he crossed under them before turning toward the healing wing which was situated just across the way.

He found Eir in her office, pouring over a holographic image in front of her. He knocked on the open door to announce himself, and she turned it off. “Ah, my prince. What can I do for you?”  
The healer, one of the Valkyior, and one of his mother’s closest friends, had served Asgard since Frigga had wed his father. There were few he trusted more. “It’s Lady Sif, she has been feeling unwell as of late.” He said as he stepped through the doorway.

Eir shifted in her seat to try and see around him. “Is she with you?”

“She would prefer if you came to our quarters to examine her.”

“I see.” She said slowly and pushed to her feet. “I’ve been expecting this.”

“Were you?” His brow furrowed as he turned sideways to allow her pass him on the way to the door.

“There are far fewer who are unaware of the way you and Lady Sif locked yourselves away a few weeks ago than there are who are aware of it. You know how word spreads.” She cocked an eyebrow at him as she closed the door behind them. “Do not tell me that you cannot have figured for yourself that Lady Sif was cycling at the time.”

His cheeks colored at the memory, the need her scent had created in him, the way it had awoken something primal. It was different from the times before, obvious that the safeguards they had taken to suppress her cycles had failed completely. “No, I do not need you to tell me what I already know. We just need verification, and something to ease Sif’s stomach. She cannot keep anything down.”

Eir smiled and stepped into one of the exam rooms to fish some herbs out of the drawer. “These can keep her from feeling ill, but it will do nothing for the drain the fetus will have on her energy and seidr. She will need much more rest than she is used to taking, and while I expect that she will argue, her hours on the training field will need to be reduced.”

He chuckled and led her from the healing wing. “She has already informed me that I will have no say in that.”

“She will see. Pregnancy will not keep her from doing all that she enjoys, but it will become more difficult. I trust you will watch after her where she will not do so for herself?”

“Lady Eir.” The way he said it sounded like a rebuke, and Eir raised her brows at him. “Sif’s wellbeing is my priority.”

“Good.” She gave him a sharp nod, and Thor suddenly felt as if he had passed some sort of test.

A few moments later, he let Eir into his quarters, and called out, “Lady Sif, I have returned with Lady Eir.”

She stepped into the sitting room from the bedroom, covered in a thin robe, her hair yet uncombed after her bath, still wet and soaking the silky material. “Lady Eir.”

“Lady Sif. Come. Sit down.” She gestured at the chaise and Sif followed her direction, settling down into the crimson cushions. “May I?” The healer asked, pointing at the tie holding the robe closed.

Sif swallowed and untied it herself, letting the material fall open.

“You needn’t look so nervous. I have seen many pregnant woman in my years, Lady Sif, not all of them are as lucky to have a partner who loves them so deeply and obviously as our Prince does you.” Eir glanced at Thor and leaned over to press her hands over Sif’s middle. The scent of seidr tinged the air, and a smile curved the healer’s lips. “A single spark, strong and healthy.” She straightened and pulled the bag of herbs from her pocket, offering them to Sif.

Thor couldn’t help feeling giddy when he met Sif’s gaze, even when she looked utterly stunned.

After a moment, Sif reached for the herbs. “I knew… but I didn’t dare let myself believe.” She said softly, and Eir pressed her hands to the younger woman’s shoulders.

“It is a big step to become a mother, but if anyone is strong enough to make it, it is you, sister.”

“Thank you.” Sif set the herbs down to tie her robe shut again.

Eir straightened. “Now. You brew those herbs into a tea. Just a pinch to a teacup of hot water every evening before bed, and any time you feel nauseated. Eat well, and come to me if ever you have any concerns.”

She turned away from Sif and gave Thor a smile on her way to the door. He moved to follow her by she waved him off.

“I can see myself out.”

Sif picked the herbs up again, and Thor put out his hand for them.

“I will brew you some.”

She shook her head and opened her arms out for him. “Will you hold me for a moment?”

The question took him aback, concerned him to see her so openly vulnerable, but nothing could have made Thor deny her that. He sat down on the edge of the chaise and pulled her into his arms before sliding back into a more comfortable position. His heart ached as she tucked herself against his chest.

“Are you alright?”

He almost couldn’t believe that he heard that question right. “Of course I am, I wonder the same of you.”

Sif shifted to sit up and look at him. “I mean, is this truly what you want?”

He combed his fingers through her damp hair and laughed softly. “Were I entirely honest, I would have to say that it’s a little out of order, but yes, Sif, this is exactly what I want. I can imagine no finer woman to carry my heir, and while I would have preferred to ask you to be my queen without any concern that I would do so out of necessity, I will accept no other to rule at my side.”

She snorted softly. “If that was a proposal, it was terrible.”

Thor laughed. “I will do better, I promise. When I announce your place at my side at my coronation.”

“Just so that you’re aware, I enjoy when you call me your warrior queen.”

He pulled her tight against him with the arm encircling her waist, and cupped the back of her head as he kissed her until they were both breathless. He pulled back just enough to speak, breaths panting against her lips. “I will not forget.”


End file.
